Wednesday, May 22, 2013

I swished this weekend. Or rather, I went to a clothing swap. It was awesome. Free clothes, timed conditions--it was like being on a game show. There was also socializing and snacks. One group I hooked up with had a whole strategy down. While we were still arranging our discarded clothes, they gathered their favorite items into a corner.

The way it worked (at this particular exchange) was that each person (girl) drew a number, 1 through 3. 1s would go first, then 2s, then 3s. Whoever happened to get a 1, would grab as many of the most coveted items as she could.

We would all have five minutes to grab six items at a time.One of our group was a 1, and grabbed many nice things. I was a 2, and missed out on some asymmetrical braided leather sandals, but I grabbed more of the coveted pile. Actually, since I'm leaving the country soon, it was my intention only to dump, not to grab, and then see if I could live on my assigned capsule wardrobe.But there were so many nice things.

Price of a new Banana Republic Skirt at Banana Republic: $80 Price of a used Banana Republic skirtat a swish: $0

One girl grabbed dress after fabulous dress, even as the rounds went on. I was inspired to do a little hunting myself, and probably grabbed some things I didn't need (but hey, it was free!). The gratis nature of the activity also encouraged me to try on or grab things that I wouldn't normally have bothered with. I had never been a bag person before, but I took home half a dozen (partially justified by how I would be more in need of bags to compartmentalize my things). I also got a dress that needed to be fitted, a pearl necklace, and a black pencil skirt from Banana Republic--just what I needed seeing that I my work skirts had gotten too frayed, too small, or too warm for the weather.I had brought shoes, skirts, dresses, tops, jackets, coats, and jewelry. Some of it, I was sad to see go, but I was also mollified to see my peacock green dress from Thailand to go to one of my friends. Another dress, a black and white lace confection that had never looked good on me, was claimed by another girl who made it work. It made it easier to see my former clothes go, seeing other people wanting them. It also flattered my sense of style.

Bags to bring clothes to and from homevs. Bags to bring home.

I went in with a large trunk and a full bag and came out with few enough bags and clothes that they could fit inside the black traveling bag I had originally brought. Other girls recounted their own successes. They had come with two bags and come out with one. One girl was disbelieving. She had come with two bags and come out with three! There were still a ton of clothes left in the swap room. They would be left there until the next clothing exchange. Sometimes the owner of the property made donations to charity. Other times, when she was sick of her closet, she would go down and hunt for something new.Swishing is a great way to rustle up some new clothes and accessories for yourself. It's a great way to reduce and revitalize your wardrobe. It's good for the environment, is great for socializing, and doesn't cost a thing. Organize one in your town this weekend.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Thinkprogress has an article denouncing slut-shaming in school dress codes because . . . a school did not allow middle schoolers to wear tube tops to their middle school prom. I take
issue with the article. Granted, female nudity and all its variations are still made too much of, but while banning high school students from wearing
tube-top dresses is both futile and inane, banning middle school
students from wearing tube-top dresses . . . kind of makes sense. What
are they wearing tube tops for anyway? It's like the legendary student
at Berkeley who went around naked (with a towel, so there were no
hygienic concerns): you could do it. But why?

Let's list all of the reasons a girl (middle school age
or older) might wear a tube top (or other item of clothing), from most
to least damning, more or less.

You are emulating a pop star/movie star/that girl from Cosmo

All the other girls are wearing it

It's Fashion!

It's really pretty

You are rebelling against one or more adult figures in your life

You want sexual attention

You want to feel sexy/pretty/confident

You want to express your personal style

For political reasons

Because it's really hot (the weather, not the tube top)

How dare she dress like that?

Notice that hardly any of these have to do with male sexual
attention. More of these have to do with female attention, peer
pressure, and the fashion industry. Starting about three-quarters down, we
get into the whole dress-for-yourself thing, and one political motive
(think Femen)--where you are still utilizing your body for shocking,
attention-getting reasons, albeit to point out the fallacy of the
shockingness of the female body.

Anyway, I don't have a problem with a middle school
(how old are these kids? 13?) banning tube tops. Frankly, I actually think it's more of a concern that high
school Mormon girls have to custom-make their prom dresses if they want
actual sleeves on the dresses. There were some comments in the Thinkprogress article that noted that the school dress codes
seemed to be imposed by old men, but the fashion industry is still
largely perpetrated by men as well (albeit gay men).

Why is this fashionable?

As long as the school dress code is consistent,
gender-equal, and can explain itself, then it's not slut-shaming to send
a girl home for wearing a tube-top, anymore than it is to make a boy
wear P.E. shorts because he cannot un-sag his pants. Dress codes exist
for a reason, especially at school. Adults have to follow them, why
shouldn't students? Would it be appropriate for a middle-school teacher
to wear a tube top to chaperon the prom? Probably not, because a teacher
should be trying to maintain an air of professionalism, even at a
party. We should have the same standards for students when they attend
class. It's a learning environment, not the beach, or even the mall.

Now let's get to the unwanted male attention part. Though I do believe the best way to prevent sexual assault is to teach people to not assault others, woman should also be defensive. Just as people learn to be defensive drivers, because they know there will always be jackasses on the road, people should be defensive dressers because there will always be weird sexual predators in the world. We put off certain vibes based on how we dress. How a girl dresses may not affect whether or not she gets raped, but girls in scanty clothing are more likely to talked about in
terms they'd most likely rather not be discussed in. If a girl wants
the attention, then fine, as long as she is informed. If a girl does not
want the attention, or not the that degree, at the very least, the
girl will be labeled a tease.

Aren't we getting too carried away with this? Like
with Janet Jackson's supposed nipple incident? Sure. Maybe someday women
can go around topless. Hey, women do it all the time in Europe. At the
beach. Not at work. Not at school. Maybe that will change someday, and
society will be better for it. Nowadays? It's just not worth it.